Community Safety

The Community Safety Committee is responsible for coordinating and administering the community security patrols and the Neighborhood Watch program.  Ed Davis is the Community Safety chair of the Lake Barcroft Association board.  He can be reached at ehdavis2255@gmail.com.

Lake Barcroft is a safe community with little or no serious crime. But we do have had some property crimes: occasional auto thefts, items stolen from (mostly unlocked) cars, burglaries, frequent trespassing and some vandalism.

We are in regular contact with the Fairfax County police and, at times, request a focus by their regular patrols on an area where there have been problems: night parties on beaches, people hanging out in cars, unleashed dogs, etc.  While the police patrol Lake Barcroft – as they do other neighborhoods – we also pay a significant amount in summer months for off-duty police patrols.

But the police cannot cover our community 24/7/365.  We all can be the eyes and ears for the neighborhood. Here are some ways you can help.

Join Neighborhood Watch (NW), a national organization that uses community volunteers to keep an eye on their community and report anything this is suspicious or just not normal.  Lake Barcroft has one active group in Section 2 (roughly mid-Lakeview Dr. area).  We are always looking to for volunteers to expand NW into other parts of our community. The police offer training for Neighborhood Watch on a regular basis at the Mason District station – even if you do not plan on joining, the training provides some useful tips on what to do when you see something that’s suspicious.  If you are interested in joining NW or starting a group in your area, contact Ed Davis at ehdavis2255@gmail.com.

If you are not in an organized group, you can still keep an eye out as you drive or walk around the neighborhood or even from a window of your house.  If you see something that does not look right, call the police non-emergency number 703-691-2131 or report it to the police online system fairfaxcounty.gov/police/howdoi/communityreportingsystem  Of course, if it’s serious and urgent call 911.

Do not approach, follow or engage with someone who seems suspicious. That’s the job of the police.

You can keep your home and belongings safer by locking your car, not leaving anything of value in the car and locking the doors of your house.  The police offer a free security review of your house (contact the Mason District station at 703-256-8035).